Crime Stoppers chapters are few, but effective

After a 19-year-old woman identified Burgwin, 20, of Wilkinsburg as the man who shot her in July, Pittsburgh Crime Stoppers posted the case on its Web site and alerted area media and law enforcement agencies.

A tip to the hot line paid off, and Burgwin was arrested in August.

In Fayette County, a jury recently convicted Junior Guthrie, 20, of Keisterville, of a string of armed robberies.

"We got some tips on that, 'He was here. He was there.' It was instrumental (in his arrest)," said Darryl Smith, Fayette County Crime Stoppers president.

While the volunteers who run the nonprofit crime-fighting groups point with pride to such success stories, the number of Crime Stopper chapters in the nation has steadily dropped since the program's peak in the 1980s.

Crime Stoppers, formed in 1976, offers a cash reward to anyone who provides anonymous tips with information that leads to arrests of people responsible for the crime.

Although law enforcement officials tend to support the program's efforts to catch criminals, many said the challenges of recruiting a board of citizens and the constant fundraising make it difficult to start and maintain local chapters.

Since the state's program began in 1981, Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers has helped to solve more than 7,700 cases, chalked up more than 5,000 arrests and awarded $510,000 to tipsters.

But records show that local offshoots have grown at a snail's pace, averaging one or two a year. Between 2004 and 2007, only two new county programs -- Wyoming and Monroe -- formed in the state. Pennsylvania now has approximately 24 local programs, said Gretchen Paul, state program coordinator.

Across the nation, the number of new Crime Stopper programs peaked at 72 in 1981 and dropped to just five in 2007. Pennsylvania's biggest year for new programs was 1986, with four. In 2007, just one new program formed.

But numbers do not tell the whole story, said Elaine Cloyd, national president of Crime Stoppers USA.

Texas, for instance, has 219 programs, while Delaware has one statewide program.

"One new program might be taking over for four old ones," she said. "There is not a rhyme or reason for growth."

Programs tend to grow in bad economic times, or when the population spikes in a particular area, Cloyd said.

Rewards, police Web sites work

Rather than rely on local volunteer groups, most regional police departments say they get good results from posting cases on the state's Crime Stoppers Web site.

William Howatt, president of the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association, said he has not worked with Crime Stoppers but said rewarding tipsters can work.

Chief of the Hanover Township police department, near Wilkes-Barre, he said an arson case several years ago was finally solved when the business owner put up a reward.

"(The caller) burned their friends in a minute" to collect the reward, Howatt said.

Yet, not all tipsters are looking for a reward.

Sometimes police release suspect descriptions or photos and get a flood of tips, said Jeanne Martin, spokeswoman for the state police barracks at Greensburg.

That was the case with Heather Marie Cordova, 32, of Hempfield, who was arrested and charged with the brazen robberies of several banks in March after police released photos from a video surveillance camera.

Tipsters also helped with the quick identification in April of three "Good Samaritans" who stopped to assist Murrysville resident Pamela Ramsey following a car accident and then allegedly stole her purse.

Still, Cloyd believes police-run tip lines alone are missing some important elements.

"Programs in some areas are more police-run than community -- just a tip line," Cloyd said.

She believes they are not always as effective.

"They are missing civilian involvement," she said.

Civilian involvement, media and law enforcement must all coalesce for the most successful program, she said.

"This was a grassroots organization," she said. "We said, 'Go forth and multiply and be relatively independent.' ... We are now saying, 'You have to follow the concept.' "

Cloyd means that programs using the Crime Stoppers' name must include a wide cross-section of the community, work with local police, raise funds and publicize the program.

The national program is now certifying all members and ensuring that programs have business plans to keep them financially afloat. Cloyd also plans to expand training workshops in areas where chapters could develop, and online training will be set up.

More local chapters unlikely

While Westmoreland County has not had a program in at least a decade, the Pittsburgh and Fayette County Crime Stoppers programs both have remained active for that long.

In Fayette County, the board works with state police to produce a local "10 Most Wanted" list that draws media attention.

Smith estimated the Fayette program has paid out $10,000 in rewards over 10 years. The tip line has received more than 1,500 calls and has led to several hundred arrests.

Martin, of the Greensburg barracks, recalled that more than a decade ago, state police participated in a public meeting to gauge interest in a local Crime Stoppers program.

"There was not a lot of community support or local law enforcement interest," she said.

John Fisanich, spokesman for state police at Indiana, sees success without a citizen-run program. He pointed to a case posted on the state Crime Stoppers' Web site last year, involving $100,000 in construction equipment damage, that led to an arrest.

"For our purposes the state is pretty good," he said.

The station commander at the Kittanning barracks in Armstrong County, Lt. Thomas Dubovia, agreed.

"They (state Crime Stoppers) provide the monetary encouragement," he said. "I think the mechanism is in place; we don't need to start our own (program)."

The Washington County Crime Stoppers folded more than a year ago, said Trooper Joseph Christy.

"People are so busy with so many things," he said. "People are always interested in a Crime Stoppers program until they realize there's some work involved. You need worker bees."

But Christy still thinks local programs are viable.

"Sometimes people need motivation (reward) to help us find the criminals," he said. "I assume at some point in the future we will try to rejuvenate it and give it a second go."

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